I've always been confused why scalping tickets is illegal. I guess I can understand not wanting to have ticket brokers snatch up all of the available tickets before regular Joe's like you and me have a chance to buy them, but that's a public relations issue for the team, not so much a legal issue. If someone wants to pay me for something I own, it seems like I should be able to set my own price. It's not like I have to clear it with the car dealer down the street before I put a "For Sale" sign in my car window, you know? But I digress. Scalping (in most parts of the country) is illegal, and if you get caught breaking the law, prepare to face the consequences ... such as watching the cop who wrote you up give away your tickets to his friends:
About 10 city police officers are being investigated by internal affairs for allegedly using World Series tickets that had been seized from scalpers, Chief Joe Mokwa confirmed Sunday. ...This is an interesting case: like at many (most?) ballparks around the country, tickets are no longer torn as you enter Busch Stadium; rather, they have a bar code on them that's scanned. That helps combat counterfeit tickets, which I think is a much bigger problem than scalped tickets.
Investigators said the officers gave about 30 tickets to friends and then, after the tickets were used, placed them into evidence, according to police sources. ...
Today, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce didn't rule out the possibility of criminal charges against the officers, but said they appeared unlikely.
"It's one of those weird deals where it's concerning but I'm not sure it fits into a crime category," Joyce said. There was no theft involved because the tickets were not stolen; the tickets were not damaged, so there was no tampering with evidence, she said.
Is what the cops did actually wrong? I guess we'll find out. It seems unethical, to say the least, especially if the scalpers still had to pay a fine or face a judge in court. But it also seems like a travesty to simply let the tickets go to waste. In a perfect world, maybe confiscated tickets should go to a children's hospital or something, but as a baseball fan it's actually reassuring to me to know that at least someone got to enjoy those tickets, even if they got them from the
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Why should it surprise us the St. Louis cops used confiscated scalpers' World Series tickets for themselves and friends. It merely adds additional support to the fact St. Louis is among cities with the highest crime rate. Now toss in the fact LaRossa stands arrested for drunken driving in Florida.
this doesnt surprise me in the least!and the d.a. doesnt think any crime was committed? must have got a ticket from an officer and went to the game also..theese are the people who are supposed to protect us and uphold the law? seems like a bunch of crap to me. must stink in st. louis with all the b.s. there
These tickets absolutely were stolen. If I rob a bank and bring the money back the next day, it is still a crime. These cops abused their power. They probably only busted these guys to get the tickets anyway. Where I live in Boston, the scalpers give cops free tickets to look the other way. These cops are crooked. They should be fully prosecuted, and stripped of their badges!
The Baltimore Orioles have a GREAT system for the handling of ticket scalping. All the "scalpers" are at one location at the stadium. They are behind a barracade and the buyers can "shop" for a ticket. The sellers are not allowed from behind the roped off baracade and are only permitted to ask for a certain amount above cost. Great system....should be employed everywhere
Post #4 Joe wrote "these cops abused there power" he also said that the cop's "should be fully prosecuted and be stripped of there badge's" It sounds like he don't think what the St. Louis cop's did was right and he sound's mad that thoses cop's broke the law that they should uphold. Good, but then he also said "where I live In Boston the scalpers give the cops tickets to look the other way... One small problem their Joe... who's worse Boston cop's or St. louis cop's? I mean there both breaking the law but you think what the Boston cop's are doing Is alright...WHY? They can do It but other's can't Is that the way you look at It? Or do you just hate St. loui?
Cops are just like everybody else liars and cheaters. Just like politicians, lawyers, clergy, doctors, military, everyone is looking out for #1. It's part of the American culture being cool & getting over. I mean look all at the president is he not our standard. American's should wake up, what these cops did is tolerated behavior and it is who we are. Therefore, who are we to judge other countries and how they conduct themselves.
After reading the story, I can't see any other way that Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce needs to do some soul seaching if she thinks that there was no crime. What the St Luis cops did was wrong, they tampered with evidence, The cops failed to follow proper procedures for handling confiscated evidence. And used the property for their own gain. They did not own the tickets and they did not legally pay to use the tickets, so the tickets were not theirs to use. The cops that initially plan the use of the tickets should also be charged with conspirecy to commit a crime. The crime is against the State which may also may have hamper the States case against the scalpers.
Thief is discribed as "The taking of an item without the permission of the owner." Whereas in this case the tickets were evidence of the State for the purpose of prosecuting the law breaker.
I don't care how the lawyers or judges will try to justify the actions of the officers involved as no harm done. The tickets were considered evidence for a reason. The value of the tickets would have stayed the same. These cops cause the alternation of the tickets by using them. When the tickets were scanned, this rendered the tickets null and void. Which means the cops participated in evidance tampering. Returning them to the evidance locker was an attempt to avoid prosecution if they were ever caught. In this case they were. If the cops aren't charged, then the charges against the scalpers should be dropped. The so call scalpers didn't steal the tickets or forged them or the cops themselves would have been busted for trying to use them. The scalpers bought them and were selling them to any one who was willing to buy them for more.
It would appear that the officers that busted the scalpers, abused their power and probably knew exactly what they were going to do with the tickets. And probably thought that there was no harm done as long as the tickets were still entered into evidence. But what they did was devalued the tickets and now the charges against the accused may have to be dismissed. It will be a lucky thing for the cops if they are not charged with false arrest and or a lawsuit against the City, the police department or all involved, doesn't come out of all this mess.
I think that a good punishment should be, dismissal from the force. The Cops should be ordered to pay restitution to the Courts at the same price as the scalpers were selling the tickets for. Because of their dishonesty, they may have now caused damage the trust, honesty and intergredy of the St Luis Police Department that the people had in their police.
There is a reason Chevy Chase came up with the line " you know what they say, cops always have the best weed!" I bet if they did a little digging, they would find that Jennifer Joyce has friends or family that just happen to get tickets to the world series. That is the only way she would say something that stupid. She doesn't think any laws were broken? Give me a fuckin break.
What do cops do with the pot and drugs they conficsate?
@#5 I think joe was saying his cops are crooked too and should be stripped of their badges.
It comes as no surprise to me, that police steal "evidence", and then use it for themselves (in my book giving them to "friends" is the same thing, as they probably got something in return since they've already proven they are crooked by taking them in the first place), it's being done everyday all over the country. Cops today seem to think they are above the law and are going around stealing, killing, and breaking a multitude of other less offensive laws and getting away with it. Most of the time with the alleged Internal Affairs blessing (I find the IA's are nothing more than a PR branch of the department to make the department "appear" to care about their law breaking officers...obvious by the lack of anything rarely being done to an offending officer, and most of the time it's merely a "slap on the wrist").
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce said, "It's one of those weird deals where it's concerning but I'm not sure it fits into a crime category." Excuse me but it is called theft, and with there being a reported 30 tickets for the World Series, I would say it is better classified as Grand Larceny. Come on Jennifer...pull your head out of your back side!!
If I, or any other civilian for that matter, were to have taken just one of those tickets and used them, we would be in the state pen right now, and everybody knows it. Why? Because we did not pay for them, we did not own them, we had no right to use them and we took them from the rightful owner without his consent (otherwise they would not have called them "seized"). And just why are the seizing the tickets, anyway? Are they considered contraband? Were the stolen in the first place? While I don't see why scalping is illegal, I don't think it should constitute seizing the tickets from the offender. Write him a ticket, and send him packing! DUH!!
How is what the officers did any different than going up to someone as they got out of their car in the stadium parking lot, knocking them out and taking their tickets and then go in and enjoy the game...oh, I mean give them to the brother-in-law to enjoy the game...yeah, that's the ticket! (pun intended) The only difference is they pressumably didn't commit assault too...but then again, it would not surprise me if they did that too!
I don't envy a lot of what the job they have to involves, but...COPS SUCK!!!!!!!
Remember in 1998 when the Yanks played the Angels at SHEA Staudium due to the beam falling at Yankee Stadium. At that time I was a Vice Cop in the NYPD and we did a ticket scalping sting. I confiscated about 50 tix and then overheard a father talking with his 2 young sons on how they did not have tix to the game and couldn't afford the scalpers prices. You know what I did, I gave them 3 tix that I had confiscated and i'm sure they had a great time at the game. Im not sorry I did it and I would do it again in a heart beat if given the chance!!
IT'S VERY INTERESTING HOW SOMEONE CAN SAY COPS SUCK....IWONDER WHAT HE WOULD SAY IF HE WAS BEING ATTACKED AND SAW A "POLICE OFFICER"..MAYBE YOU SUCK DON'T HELP ME!!! IF SOMEONE ON YOUR BLOCK COMMITS A SERIOUS CRIME IT MAKES SENSE THEN TO THINK THAT EVERYBODY ON THE BLOCK WAS INVOLVED AND SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY ...RIGHT? WHY WHEN SOMEONE COMMITS A CRIME INVOLVING THE POLICE, ALL POLICE SUCK. IF YOUR A TRUCK DRIVER AND A TRUCK DRIVER COMMITS A CRIME ARE ALL TRUCK DRIVERS CRIMINALS??? PLEASE STEP BACK AND LOOK AT WHAT WAS DONE AND POINT THE FINGER ONLY AT THOSE INVOLVED AND DONT BLAME ALL COPS. WHEN YOU NEED THEM YOUR GLAD THEY ARE THERE. I AGREE THAT WHAT THESE OFFICERS DID WAS NOT RIGHT...BUT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE THEY SHOULD BE AFFORDED A FAIR TRIAL WHETER BY THERE SUPERIORS OR THE COURTS AND THE OUTCOME SHOULD BE REPORTED ALONG WITH THE PENTALTY IMPOSED.
It wasn't theft? Property taken from another without compensation and converted for personal gain is the legal definition of theft...puhhhhleeeeez... bullies AND thieves... wish it were actually surprising...
The anti-scalping laws are a disgrace to the country and have created a situation in which "legal scalpers" called "ticket brokers" can sell tickets at any price they can get over face value, while the rest of the citizenry goes to jail for selling tickets even at face value! The ballclubs themselves have set up their own legal scalping operations that charge hundreds of dollars a piece for prime tickets and threaten season ticket holders with confiscation of their entire season's worth of tickets if they sell them to anyone else but the club! Meanwhile the cops rob "scalpers" outside the stadiums... people who are just trying to make a few dollars over face value per ticket. To complete the farce, the state & local governments and the teams claim that they are "protecting the fans" from "counterfeit tickets"! Yeah, right! I've scalped tickets outside ballparks for well over a decade and I've yet to see a single counterfeit ticket that didn't look like a piece of crap the minute you set eyes on it.
I'd say maybe 1 in 10,000 scalped tickets I've seen were counterfeit. I've never been ripped off outside a ballpark this way, and if I was, I'd just say "shame on me" for falling for a scam while trying to save a few bucks on some tickets.
The cops do this robbing of scalpers all the time at sporting events all over the country. I was at a 3-game series between the Red Sox and the Yankees at Fenway Park (the weekend Bryce Florie got nailed by a line drive) and I witnessed undercover cops attacking scalpers outside the ballpark as if they were Al Quaida terrorists - they rushed the guy, tackled him to the pavement, kneed him in the back, stole his tickets and then cuffed him and took him away in a police car. You'd have thought he was selling heroin or something - even if he was, there was no need for this brutal use of force. Later that same day I saw these same undercover cops handing out tickets to people coming out of a bar on Yawkey Way (over by the bleachers entrance in the RF corner of the park)! Same crap as was going on in St Louis.
Fact is the cops DO suck - too many of them are criminals themselves who think they ARE the law and are answerable to no one. That pig circuit attorney in St Louis should be disbarred for her statements that what the St Louis cops did was anything other than a criminal act. The scalpers they seized those tickets from were hauled off to jail, where they may well have spent several days or even weeks in jail before they could be brought before a judge... and now the charges will have to be dropped because of what the cops did. If that isn't false imprisonment then tell me what it is!
I have personally seen, experienced and heard about so much police brutality and false arrest that I assume that every cop in the world is corrupt to some level. You pro-cop people can blow it out your a$$... I believe that it's far wiser to assume that "every cop is a criminal" than it is to assume otherwise. I avoid the cops like the human plague they are and I wouldn't call the cops for any of their so-called "help" unless it was absolutely necessary - only after I called the Fire Dept., paramedics, and my own neighbors.
I was very surprised to hear that the Orioles have such an enlightened approach to the ticket reselling at their stadium. I agree that their model should be emulated by every sports franchise in the nation. It would put the legal "ticket broker" criminals out of business and get the brutal criminal cops off the backs of the baseball, football, basketball and music fans... and the rest of the citizenry to boot.
Houndcat